Tabernacle safe



2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Me/m H. P. MERTEL TABERNACLE SAFE Filed Jan. 16. 1933 March 2o, 1934.

/I j ATTORNEY March 20, 1934. H. P. MERTEL TABERNACLE SAFE Filed Jan. 16, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 'bhwtu.

BY 2. f

ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 20, 1934 circo STATES ArENT OFFICE ,l

TABERNACLE SAFE Henry P. Mertel, Ridgefield, N. J.

Application January 16, 1933, Serial No. 651,959

6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in tabernacle safes and constitutes a continuation, in part, of my pending application, Serial No. 4.45,- 565, led April 19, 1930, for tabernacle safes, and

One of the objects of my invention is to provide in a tabernacle safe construction a key-actuated locking mechanism operable upon insertion of the key into the lock to unlock and release the door, and upon the withdrawal of the key from the lock to automatically lock the door, the parts being so arranged that insertion of the key into the lock will withdraw the locking bolt to u nlock the door, a turning of the lock spindle by the key will maintain the locking bolt in withdrawn position until the door is in closed position and a socket therein is in registry with the locking bolt and the key will be capable of withdrawal from the lock only when the door is in fully closed position with its socket in registry with the bolt.

Another object of my invention is to provide a locking mechanism which will at all times maintain the door in unlocked condition when the key is inserted in the lock so that the door will be capable of being opened by engagement .of the hand with the door in case the key is broken olii while in the lock.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an improved form of locking mechanism including a key-operated latch member and latching notch which will enable the effective locking oi the door while being completely concealed and without having any latches, sockets or apertures in any of the edges of the doorway or of the door proper, it being understood that such sockets or apertures are objectionable in altar tabernacle safes, and to this end, I provide a latching locking notch in a heel bracket connected or integral with the rear edge of the door, extending below the doorway and preferably having a reentrant portion extending forwardly in the plane of the door and spaced below the same where it is engaged with key-actuated latch or locking mechanism to lock the door.

Still another object of my invention is to provide in a safe oi' the type specified, a lock, a doorlocking or latching mechanism comprising a pivoted lever or levers arranged to be normally retained in locking engagement and to be releasable therefrom by insertion of a keyinto a lock,

and to be maintained in released position during turning of the key to operate door-moving mechanism.

Still another object of my invention is to provide means for simultaneously locking and unlocking a door and door operating mechanism (Cl. 10Q-3) preferably comprising a plurality of latch bolts, one of which is movable in a vertical plane and preferably engages a part of the door and the other movable in a horizontal plane and preferably engages the door operating mechanism in combination with a lock arranged beneath said doorway, a key having vertical projections adapted to engage and release the vertical movable latch bolt and also having a horizontal extension adapted to engage and release the horizontallymovable latch bolt, a reentrant bracket connected to the heel of said door and extending below the doorway and having a locking notch cooperating with one of said lock bolts and a pin on said pivoted arm cooperating with the other lock bolt.

W ith these and other objects in View, the invention comprises the combination of members and arrangement of parts so combined as to co-act and cooperate with each other in theV performance of the functions and the accomplishment of the results herein contemplated, and comprises in` one of its adaptions the species or preferred form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, ink which:-

Fig. l is a horizontal section of the lower portion of a safe doorway on the line 1-1 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction 01"' the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation of the keyactuated bolt member used for locking the operating mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section of my key-actuated' door-engaging bolt member with my lock, lock casing, lock spindle and adjacent parts of the mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of the lock shown in Fig. 5, with the bevel gear removed;

Fig. 6a is a'horizontal section of the lock taken on the line 6er- 6a of Fig. 6;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section similar to Fig. 5 showing the key inserted in the lock and the parts in unlocked position.

Referring now to these drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, l indicates a tabernacle safe which, in accordance with the preferred form of my invention, is cylindrical in conformation.

Intabernacle safes of the type under consideration, it is necessary, in order to comply with the rubric of the catholic church in which these tabernacle safes are utilized to have the interior surfaces of the compartment used for the Euchathe tabernacle from the altar.

rist, including the surfaces of the doorway of said compartment, free of groove slots and the like. I therefore provide a main interior compartment 9, the surfaces of which will be entirely free of grooves notwithstanding the fact that I utilize mechanism for operating the door to move to open and closed positions respectively. To this end I mount my door-supporting and operating mechanism in a Acompartment 15 below the said main compartment. By operating my door through an opening below the main compartment which communicates with the door sheathing compartment 6 out of registry with the door opening, I am enabled to use a floor plate which will be free of all grooves or slots.

As illustrated, I provide a floor plate 10 which rests upon and is fastened to the upper edge of the annular vertical flange 3a. Theattachment of the floor plate 10 on the flange 3f` provides, directly beneath the same, a shallow compartment'14, and I utilize this compartment 14 to mount my operating mechanism for moving and locking the door 8.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention, I provide an exterior door frame 40 and the front portion of .the compartment 14 is closed by a panel member 41 in which is mounted the locking mechanism 29.

It is also desirable that the door, the door hangers, the door-operating mechanism and other internal parts of the safe be removable for the purpose of repair or for the purpose of refinishing the partsA and that this may be accomplished lwithout removal of the shell of To this end, the Various interior parts of the safe are mounted so as to be removable when the door is opened and in the construction illustrated, the doorframe 40 is separable from the shell and is removably. mounted thereon by means of stile strips 40c which are fastened to the frame 40 by screws 40d and are fastened to an outwardly-projecting lip 4 of the shell by screws 40; thereafter, other parts of the device may be removed inthe following order.

Strips 16 and 18; the silk lining 13; the wooden lining 12; whereupon screws 10', of the floor plate, which are located beneath thewooden lining are exposed and may be taken out which will Y permit the floor plate to be removed; then the lock panel 41 may then be removed by releasing the screws 411'. Thereafter, the door-supporting and operating mechanism in the compartment 14, which is also removably mounted in said compartment by the screws 14', may be bodily removed through the door-opening. 1 In the preferred embodiment of my invention illustrated, the door-moving mechanism is provided below the door 8 in the compartment 14 and I utilize a mounting member 23 which is movable about the axis of the cylindrical walls 4 and 5 to guide the movement of the lower edge of the door within the sheathing compartment 6, to 'serve as a part of the door-moving mechanism and also in the preferred embodiments of myl invention illustrated, to serve as a part of the locking mechanism. As shown, this member 23 is mounted on a pivot 23 and has a ballbearing 23@L disposed in a circular aperture 23b between said member 23 and a shoulder on said pivot 23. My door-moving mechanism is operable manually` byr means of the turning of a key, knob or like element and it is desirable to minimize the turning movement of this manually-movable member las much as possible. Therefore, said member 23 is connected at its outer end with the re'- entrant bracket 8 by screws 8b and mechanism for moving this arm or member 23 to move the door to open and closed positions is provided which will enable opening and closing of the door by a relatively short manual movement of the operating element.

As shown, I mount a bevel-gear 24 eccentrically of the circle of movement of said member 23 and adjacent to the doorway and I project from this bevel-gear a radial arm 24 and connect this arm by means of a link 25 pivoted at opposite ends with a projection 23c arranged adjacent to the pivot of said member 23, Lockoontrolled means for turning the bevel gear 24 to move the door is provided, and as shown, the bevelled gear 24 meshes with a beveled pinion 2'? mounted on a lock spindle 29' of a locking mechanism which, upon operation of conventional lock tumblers and turning, is adapted to cause the turning of the bevelled pinion 27, which, in turn, rotates the pinion 24 to cause. the movement of the members 24, 24', 25 and 23 in a swinging of the door 8 within the sheathing compartment 6.

In the form illustrated, the locking mechanism comprises a lock 29 having a front face 29aA provided with a key spindle.29 rotatable in the housing upon the insertion of a key 30 in combination with latching means cooperating therewith to lock the door. present invention (see Figs. 1 and 2) I provide a latching or locking lever 31 pivoted at 31 and normally swung on its pivot into .engaging position by pressure of a spring 31St on the end 31h. so that when the door is closed the free end 31h. will engage a locking notch 8c in the bracket 8'. The lockv 29 is provided with a notch or elbow '29h into which is tted a lock-mounting bar 33 and said lock housing has mounted therein. a rod 32 movable by the insertion of the key into the lock and mounted beneath the end of the lever 31. The rod 32 is adapted to be engaged by a vertical projection 30' of the key 30 to cause' the upward movement of one end 31c of the leverv and the opposite end 3lb to be moved downward.- ly. The end 3lbwhich is drawn downwardly has a hook endlwhich normally is pressed by .the spring 31 1 into engagement with a notch 8c and when moved downwardly swings out of the notch 8c in the heel bracket 8 and releases. the door.

In the form of my invention shown, Ialso provide a horizontal latching lever 40a pivoted rat 41 and normally having its end 40 pressedby spring 42 into engagement with a pin 43 on the door-moving lever 23. This lever thus `normally locks the doorin locked position and serves as a secondary lock therefor. As illustrated, the lever 40a is shifted to release the pin 43 by the en-i gagement of the end 30b of thekey with av slidable pin 29c arranged in the lock spindle 29Si and said latching lever 40a is provided witha bearing plate 40h so as to permit turning of the key, lock spindle 29d and pin 29c in the lock-casing while maintaining contact with the lever in withdrawn position. It willr be seen from the above that the insertion of thekey 30 into the keyway of the lock causes the inward movement ofr the pin 29e, which in turn engages and pressesin.- wardly the latching-element 40 against the action of the spring 42, Vthis releasing therlatchbolt as hereinabove stated. The release of the lock tumblers by Athe key permits the turning of the key, during which turningit is engaged and held in the lock andV in turn holds the pin29c- In accordance with my` in extended position, which by its engagement with the latching element 40 retains the same in unlatched position against the action of the spring 42. So soon, however, as the key is again turned into its insertion, tumbler-registering position, the latching element 40 will, through the pressure of the spring 42 be moved into latched position, and during such movement will press inwardly the rod 29c which will, in turn, the key from the keyway in the lock 29. Such ejection of the key thus occurs upon the movement of the door into closed position and the movement of the latch into latching position and is desirable because keys of these safes often become broken in the lock, whereas in applicants construction, even though the handle part of the key is broken off, the portion of the key which is within the lock will be ejected from the lock upon the closing of the door.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention I provide an exterior door frame 40 and the front portion of the compartment 14 is closed by a panel member 41 in which is mounted the locking mechanism 29.

Having described my invention, I claimz l. A tabernacle safe embodying, in combination, a safe having a doorway, a door for opening and closing said doorway, door-locking mechanism mounted below the said doorway and comprising a plurality of locking members, one of which is movable in a vertical plane andthe other in a horizontal plane, a key-controlled lock arranged beneath said doorway and adapted to be actuated by a key having vertical projections adapted to engage and release the vertical movable locking member and also having a horizontal extension adapted to engage and release the horizontally-movable locking members, and means connected with the door and cooperating with said locking members to provide a plurality of latches for said door.

2. A tabernacle safe embodying, in combination, a safe having a doorway, a door for opening and closing said doorway, door-locking mechanism mounted below the said doorway and comprising a plurality of locking members, one of which is movable in a vertical plane and the other in a horizontal plane, a key-controlled lock arranged beneath said doorway, and adapted to be actuated by a key having vertical projections adapted to engage and release the vertical movable locking member and also having a horizontal extension adapted to engage and release the horizontally-movable locking member, a reentrant bracket connected to the heel of said door and extending below the doorway and having a locking notch cooperating with one of said locking members and a pin movable with the door and cooperating with the other locking member.

3. A tabernacle safe embodying, in combination, a door and door-moving mechanism including a door-operating shaft, adapted upon rotation to cause a swinging movement of the door, a key-actuated lock provided with a rotatable lock-spindle having a fast connection with said operating shaft, said lock having a series of tumblers adapted in locked position to lock said shaft against rotation and to be moved into open position by insertion of a key into the lock to release said rotatable locking spindle for rotation, said lock also having a tumbler provided with an extension portion adapted to be projected vertically above the lock by movement into the lock of said key, a bolt for said door operable by said tumblerextension portion and arranged upon engagement thereby to release the door.

4. A tabernacle safe embodying, in combination, a door and door-moving mechanism including a door-operating shaft, adapted upon rotation to cause a swinging movement of the door, a key-actuated lock provided with a rotatable lock-spindle having a fast connection with said operating shaft, said lock having a series of tumblers adapted in locked position to lock said shaft against rotation and to be moved into open position by insertion of a key into the lock to release said rotatable locking spindle for rotation, said lock also having a tumbler provided withan extension portion adapted to be projected vertically above the lock by movement into the lock of said key, a bolt for said door operable by said tumblerextension portion and arranged upon engagement thereby to release the door, a horizontallyarranged pin also extending within said lock into the path of the key and adapted to be engaged by the key during its insertion movement and to be projected horizontally thereby, and a latch bolt operable by said horizontally-movable lockpin upon the insertion of the key into the lock.

5. A tabernacle safe embodying, in combination, a safe body having a doorway, a door for opening and closing said doorway, door-locking mechanism for said door including a key controlled lock having tumbler-mechanism and a keyway, a door-engaging element controlled by said look and movable to door-engaging and released positions, said lock adapted to be actuated by a key operable on insertion into said keyway to move said door-engaging element to released position, and means operable upon the movement of said door-engaging element into door-engaging position to eject the key from said keyway.

6. A tabernacle safe embodying in combination, a safe body having a doorway, a door for opening and closing said doorway, door-locking mechanism including a door-engaging element movable to door-engaging and released positions, a spring for normally forcing said door-engaging element into latching position, a key controlled lock having a lock-spindle and tumbler mechanism and also provided with a keyway, said tumbler mechanism being operable by a key to release said spindle for turning in said lock, and a member slidable in said lock and movable by insertion of said key to engage and move said door-engaging element to released position against the action of said spring and adapted during the turning movement of the said spindle to retain said door-engaging element against the force of said spring in released position, said member being adapted upon movement of the said spindle to initial position to eject said key from the keyway by pressure of the spring-pressed door-engaging element.

HENRY P. MERTEL. 

